Black
Canary, Nightwing and Speedy overlooked Ne Win's compound from the Titans'
original position. In his gauntlet,
Nightwing carried Ollie's formula for diluting the heroin, and they had some
idea from the briefing where the antidote would be. On the way to the compound Black Canary had checked in with
Oracle, and assured her that all was well with everyone. Upon hearing that, Oracle insisted on
speaking to Nightwing, and promptly let him have it for not reporting in, but
both Canary and Nightwing could hear the lightness in her voice. What Black
Canary heard in Oracle's voice verified her suspicion that Oracle loved the man
behind the bat-shaped mask, and BC noted the future ammunition with
amusement. Canary also let on that
Barbara wouldn't believe who they had found, but even under Oracle's protest,
Dinah wouldn't reveal who it was.
"Which
way in, bright eyes?" Black Canary asked Nightwing. Even with his mask, she couldn't help but to notice his deep blue
eyes. No wonder he had Oracle falling
all over herself.
The
only hint that Nightwing was annoyed at Canary's nickname was the little bit of
edge to his voice when he said, "There," he pointed, "over the wall."
Canary
grinned, knowing she was getting under his skin; why he was more fun to play
with then his dark and dreary mentor. She countered, "I say go in the front kicking all the way."
"No. That's just dumb," Nightwing said a little
more shortly than he had intended.
"Now,
now. No need to get nasty," Black
Canary cooed.
"Guys,"
Speedy stopped his elders, "Knock it off, will ya? We can do both." He
looked at Nightwing and continued, "We all know what has to be done. You've got the stuff. Why not let Black Canary go after the
antidote."
"Well,"
Canary spoke up, "Looks like you're training your members well, Nightwing." She
gave Ben a flirtatious grin, "I'm impressed."
Nightwing
rolled his eyes, but said, "Ok, Speedy, you're with me." He said to Canary,
"You know where the lab is?" She nodded
impatient confirmation, and ignoring her impatience, Nightwing continued,
"We'll meet back here. Let's go." With
Nightwing's command, the trio took off; Nightwing and Speedy towards the side
wall, and Black Canary right up to the front gate.
When
Black Canary reached the gate, she slowed down to a seductive walk before the
guards noticed her. When they did, she
started, "Hello, boys, care to play?" Before the guards could react, Canary threw a front hook kick to one
guard's face, and a side kick to the other guard's ribs, causing both to fall
to the ground. She shook her head,
dusted off her hands, and said to herself, "They just don't make 'em in the
east as good as back west." She
sauntered into the compound in the direction of the lab. She felt like a workout. Once she was noticed, evidenced by the
shouting, she went into action. As they
came she took them down one by one, casually bantering, "Now, boys, I know you
all want to play, but one at a time. A girl
can't take much more." Once the guards
thinned out, she ran for cover, picking her way to the lab.
**
"According
to Ollie," Nightwing said, "The processing plant is this way." He pointed. They ran, coming across no resistance. Nightwing thought that Canary had a lot to
do with that, for he could hear shouts near the main entrance. The pair safely found the main processing
plant, and looked down at it from a catwalk. Nightwing watched the process for a moment, trying to pick up on its
rhythm. He signaled for Speedy's
attention and pointed to a big vat in the corner. Speedy nodded, understanding what Nightwing meant, and retrieved
an exploding, payload-carrying arrow. Silently, Nightwing handed Speedy the packet of antidote, and Speedy
loaded the payload. He nocked the
arrow, took a moment to adjust for the added weight, and let the arrow
fly. The heroes watched as the arrow
disappeared in the vat, and let off a little *poof* as it exploded in the
liquid. Nightwing looked at the room
again, and saw no evidence that anyone had heard the explosion.
"We've
got to retrieve that arrow," Nightwing whispered.
Speedy
shook his head and whispered back, "No, it disintegrates on impact."
Surprised,
Nightwing looked at his junior partner, and then patted him on the back, and
said kiddingly, "Good boy." Speedy let
out a laugh under his breath, and, mission accomplished, the duo were about to
leave the plant by the rooftop when they heard yelling. The heroes looked for the cause of the
commotion, and saw who looked to be the shift boss yelling and starting to beat
one of the workers. Nightwing
commanded, "I'll take care of it." Then he said, "Cover me this time, ok?"
"Hey!"
Ben protested, "That wasn't my fault!" Nightwing grinned, indicating that he was teasing, and took off,
shooting a line and swinging down to the conflict. Speedy watched as Nightwing came between the boss and the worker,
and let an arrow fly to stop the boss's underlings from coming to his aid. Soon though, he had drawn attention to
himself, and had to work quickly to take out each weapon aimed at him. For a few, he sent an arrow down the barrel
of the gun—he loved doing that—but for most, he simply shot the gun out of the
user's hand. Speedy's attention went
back to Nightwing just in time to see Nightwing take off out the nearest exit
after having knocked out the shift boss. Speedy went to the rooftop, and, seeing Nightwing looking up from the
ground below him, held his bow to out to his side, leaped, did a forward
somersault to break his decent, and landed gracefully and silently on the
ground. Nightwing looked proudly at
the younger man, for, as with most of the other Titans, especially the younger
ones, Nightwing had pushed him through acrobatics and tumbling training. Speedy smiled back, acknowledging his teacher's
pride.
"Let's
see how Canary's doing," Nightwing
said, to which Speedy nodded consent, although he noted the detour from the
agreed rendezvous point. He had known
Nightwing long enough to know of his leader's protective nature.
**
"Even
if I came home with you, Roy," Ollie continued, "I don't know what I'd do. Hell, my name isn't even my own anymore."
Roy
was puzzled until he realized that Ollie meant his code name. He had been given another dose of heroin,
but it wasn't helping like the last doses had. Roy suspicions that the heroin
didn't totally counteract the poison were verified as he fought to stay awake.
He was on his back with his head propped with pillows, one hand resting on his
chest, and the other on his side as he tried to focus on Ollie. "Do what you're doing now," Roy said
weakly, "Just do it from home. I can probably get you an in with Checkmate
if you want." He paused, taking a
ragged breath, and after a moment, continued weakly, "I'm sure the JLA would
welcome you back, and I'd even be willing to bet that Conner would relinquish
the Green Arrow name for you. He'd just
be glad to have you back."
Roy
became quiet, so that Ollie thought he might have lost consciousness until he
looked at the younger archer. Even in the state that Roy was in, Ollie could
tell that something was bothering him. He backtracked in his mind what Roy just
said, and guessed what that was. He put
one hand on Roy's arm to emphasize his words as he said, "Roy, Conner may be my
son in blood, and certainly making good with him is enough to send me home, but
in my eyes, you are my son too. It
doesn't matter to me that you don't have my blood. God knows there are more important things in a father/son
relationship. Half the original members of the JLA know that." He reached up to
brush Roy's hair from his feverish face as he stressed, "You are my *son*" Roy felt tears forming and nodded
slightly. "Even if I had been there to
pass on my codename, I'm not sure I'd want you to take it," Roy's expression turned puzzled and
concerned as Ollie drew back his hand from Roy's head and placed it back on his
son's arm. Oliver noted his son's
expression and clarified gently, "Oh, I certainly couldn't be prouder if you
had taken it, but you worked so hard to be your own man, and it would almost
seem to me that I was taking that away from you if you became Green Arrow. You're not Green Arrow; you're Arsenal, and
I couldn't be prouder." Roy smiled
despite himself. He knew that if he survived this ordeal everything that was
just said would seem like a feverish dream.
Finally
Roy couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, and succumbed to his body's demands
as he closed them. "Ollie," he whispered so softly that Ollie could barely hear
him, "I love you too." Then his face
and body relaxed as Roy slipped into unconsciousness. Ollie's tears finally forced their way to the surface, and this
time he let them come as he laid his head by his son's arm.
**
Black
Canary arrived at the lab and quickly disposed of anyone who tried to get in
her way, so that soon she was running freely while security guards and
scientists alike simply let her pass. A few brave adversaries presented themselves whom she confronted
readily. "Well, finally!" she bantered,
"A girl starts to think there's something wrong with her deodorant!"
She
threw a side kick and a jump front snap kick. "I know you all want to play, boys," back kick, "but don't make me knock you out." front punch, "Believe it
or not, I could use your help," hard side kick to the gut, "think you could
tell me where your boss keeps his antidotes," she asked sweetly as she landed
the final blow to one of her opponents. She turned her cavity-causing smile to the remaining guard, and when it
became clear that he wasn't going to help her willingly, her grin turned more
feral. Finally she grabbed him by the
hair and said, "Look, I don't like to play rough with you kids, but I need that
medicine. If you're not going to help
me, there's no reason I should leave you breathing." Of course she would never kill him, but she was hoping he didn't
know that.
A
thought occurred to her, and she asked strongly, "Do you understand me?" The guard nodded quickly and stood. He looked at her pleadingly and pointed down
the hall. Dinah smiled with
satisfaction and nodded, "Good. Lead
the way, kiddo."
Canary
and captive soon arrived in what looked like a chemistry lab, and earned the
attention of everyone in the room. The guard leading Dinah suddenly cowered,
and looking to the source, Dinah saw a man striding towards them who had the
air of being in command. She looked at
him with a suspicious glare, and tested, "Ne Win?"
The
man raised an eyebrow, and through a shallow charming expression addressed
Dinah. "Surely we have not met. I would have remembered meeting such a
lovely young woman."
"Eat
your heart out, sweetie," Dinah retorted. Ne Win's expression darkened, and Dinah, who still had control over the
guard so that no one dared approach them, continued, "I need the antidote for
that poison you shot Arsenal with."
Ne
Win's smile returned, if in a grotesque manner, and he stated, "Ah, you're here
to save the American archer. What would
you do for the medication to save his life?" Dinah glared and released the
guard as she slowly approached Ne Win. The few personnel that did confront her were pushed aside with barely
more than a swat of the hand or a quick side kick as Dinah's attention remained
focused on Ne Win. When she came within
about five feet of the drug lord, Ne Win started to back up, and Dinah's grin
broadened. "Do you know what they say
about a mother's protectiveness towards her children?" She snarled. "If I had any children, that boy you are
killing would be my son, and I don't take lightly to drug lords trying to kill
my family."
She
could see that she wasn't getting anywhere, and she sighed. She grabbed his collar with one hand; he was
easy to control; and dragged him over to the nearest scientist. "Do you understand me?" She growled at the
scientist who nodded silently while keeping frightened eyes on the American
heroine. "Good. I need the antidote for the poison you have
been lacing the heroin with." Dinah
could see in the man's eyes that he knew exactly what she meant, and he looked
uncertainly at Dinah's captive. Ne Win
was barely on his feet, being supported mostly by Dinah's grip on his collar,
and after a glare for Canary, Ne Win reluctantly nodded. The scientist turned to the counter and
produced a vial of clear liquid which he showed Black Canary. "Good," Canary said. She turned her attention to Ne Win, "You
have a date with a couple archers, sweetie." Canary took satisfaction in watching Ne Win's eyes widened in fear, and
she grinned ferally as she let go of Ne Win just long enough to deliver a knockout
punch.
As
Ne Win slumped to the floor, which Canary nonchalantly ignored, Dinah turned to
the scientist and took the vial. "Just
inject him with this?" she asked and he nodded. She had no ill will towards him, since she knew he probably
didn't want to be doing what he was doing. That train of thought lead her to suggest, "Your boss probably won't be
back for a good long time, so this might be a good time to vamoose." She turned
her attention to the room, "Same goes for all of you."
The scientist confessed to Dinah, "I hate
doing this. I know we're killing
people." He sighed and looked at the
ground. He looked up again and asked,
"Your son has been poisoned?" Dinah
nodded silently, listening intently. "I'm sorry." Dinah though she saw tears forming. "I want to help. I can help you make more, and here are the formulas," he held up
a stack of papers, "May I come along?"
"Of
course. I bet you'll be a real asset,"
Dinah smiled at the man.
She
started back into full motion and was just hauling the unconscious drug lord
into a fireman's carry as Nightwing and Speedy rushed into the room. "Hey!" Canary exclaimed with pleasure,
"Great timing, boys!" She
unceremoniously dumped Ne Win back to the ground. "He can be your treasure," Canary said to Nightwing, "Here's
mine," she grinned as she held up the vial.
"Good
work, Canary!" Nightwing said as he
threw Ne Win over his shoulder.
"Thanks,
Boy Wonder," Canary grinned at Nightwing's glare. "Dr.."
"Le,"
the scientist offered.
Black
Canary continued, "Dr. Le offered his services and this papers," she gestured
as Dr. Le held them up. "They can make
more antidote, but this one," she held up the vial again, "is for Roy."
Nightwing
nodded, and said, "That's great. Let's
go."
**
Ollie
watched anxiously and helplessly as Kyi bent over his unconscious son. Roy's heart had already stopped once, but
Kyi had managed to get it started again, although now Roy's pulse was
dangerously weak and he was barely breathing. Ollie watched his pale son fight for his life, and he took Roy's cold,
clammy hand. "Kyi, you've got to save
him," Ollie begged, "I promised. His
friends will find what he needs. They'll be back soon. They have
to."
Kyi
saw the despair in her employer's eyes and tears came to her own. She knew what it was like to lose a child;
Kyi's daughter had been caught in military crossfire when she was only three,
and Kyi didn't think she'd ever survive that. It had been soon afterward that she was found and hired by Oliver Queen,
and she was forever grateful for the support, both financial and emotional in
his own unique way. Ollie knew about
Kyi's loss, but Kyi didn't think he knew how much he helped her—she thought he
would deny giving any special help if she ever tried to thank him for it. Saving his own son's life would be her
thanks—she didn't ever want Oliver to have to suffer such a terrible loss.
But
things didn't look good, and she didn't want to offer false hope. All Kyi could do in response to Ollie's
pleas is to look up with sympathetic eyes. She couldn't even find the words for comfort as she fought tears. She knew Ollie read her thoughts as he
looked despairingly back to his son and then brought his hands to his
face. His shoulders started to shake as
he cried, and Kyi was shocked. She had
never seen him cry so openly, and her heart went out to him as she moved to
stand behind him and gently massage his shoulders.
Her
attention was pulled to the doorway as Ollie's costumed friends rushed into the
room. With them were two Burmese men,
one with his hands tied behind his back and kept under guard with Speedy's bow,
and the other wearing a lab coat giving the impression of a scientist. Kyi
assumed that the bound man was Ne Win, but she didn't know about the other
one. Maybe he offered to help them, she
thought. Nightwing took in the scene
and immediately assumed the worst. "No.. God, no.. Please don't say we're too late." He looked pleadingly at Kyi, and then Ollie
when the archer looked up.
"Roy!" Black Canary pushed past Nightwing and,
noting but ignoring Kyi's proximity to Ollie, rushed to Roy's other side. She saw no sign of life from the young
archer, and, frightened, looked up at Ollie.
Ben's
heart was in his throat as the three heroes were frozen in the moment waiting
for confirmation. Ollie finally allayed
the heroes' fears as he said softly while looking at Roy, "He's alive, but
barely." He transferred his gaze first
to Ne Win as his eyes hardened into hatred, and then to Nightwing and said
anxiously, "Too late.. Does that mean
you have it?"
In
answer, Black Canary held out the vial and nodded towards the scientist. "He said you just need to inject him." She said as Kyi took the vial.
"There's
enough here to give Roy what he needs and to study," she said thoughtfully.
"He
wants to help," Dinah said, jabbing a thumb at Dr. Le. Dr. Le nodded confirmation, and Kyi smiled
gratefully at him.
"Uh,
Kyi, you think.." Ollie started. His
voice seemed to remind her of Roy's precarious health, and she hurried to
retrieve a syringe. She filled it with
the antidote and slowly and deliberately injected into Roy.
"We
can only wait now," Kyi said as she looked sympathetically to Ollie, and then
thankfully to the heroes as she left with Dr. Le to study the new life-giving
serum.
Ollie
watched Roy for a moment, and then seemed to remember the heroes' captive. He looked up with pure hatred, and stood and
stalked to Ne Win. He first looked as
though he was at a loss for words, and then finally shouted, "You son of a
bitch!" as he delivered a knockout punch.
"Feel
better?" Nightwing asked with a half-serious/half-amused tone.
"Yes,"
was Ollie's simple response as he shook his hand. Having nothing to guard
anymore, Ben released the tension on his bow, returned the arrow to his quiver,
and shouldered his bow.
"Well,
I guess we just wait," Nightwing said as he found and pulled up another chair,
gesturing his teammates to do the same.
**
The
first thing Roy was aware of was a soft murmur. He thought he must be in a hospital, but something in the back of
his mind told him he was far from home. He felt a hand on his arm, and thought hazily that it must be
Donna. He fought to come to
consciousness. He couldn't remember
what had happened. Somehow he thought
he had willingly taken smack again. But
that wasn't right—was it? Did he overdose? Somehow it was reiterated to him that he wasn't home—wasn't in a
hospital. He felt his eyes flutter open
and shut. He tried again, and
succeeded. For a moment he was puzzled
as he took in his surroundings. Then he
turned his head and saw Ollie sitting by his side. Wasn't he dead? He looked like he had been crying, and Roy wanted
to ask him what was wrong, but couldn't get the words out. Ollie noted his son's puzzled expression and
smiled. At Ollie's smile, everything
returned to Roy in a rush. He exercised
his mouth, trying to get rid of the cotton-ball feel, and finally was able to
ask weakly, "Poison?"
"Gone,"
Ollie smiled. "It's gone," he
reiterated, with a smile and tears in his eyes, "Lian still has her father."
Roy
looked puzzled, although mention of his daughter brought tears to his eyes, and
remembered the dreamlike reconciliation. He could swear that it was a dream, but somehow he remembered thinking
that, and Ollie's attitude seemed to suggest it was real. He didn't know how to verify if his memories
were real. He studied Ollie's
expression, which Ollie allowed with a smile, and finally Roy asked, "Did you
really say.. Did I dream.." He turned
his head on his pillow to give his puzzled expression to Nightwing, and,
although his friend gave him a smile, he shrugged. Dick had no idea what Roy was talking about. Roy looked in turn to Dinah and Ben who,
along with Dick, were sitting near the foot of Roy's bed on the other side from
Ollie. Ben smiled at his friend, and
Dinah gushed, "I'm glad you're ok, Roy." Her face broke into a grin as she
said, "We brought you a gift."
Roy's
eyebrows furrowed at Dinah, and he switched his gaze to Dick who revealed, "Ne
Win."
"You
got him? He's here?" Roy asked with
surprise.
"Yep. Ollie already got his first shot at
him. You'll get yours too. I promised you would," Nightwing smiled at
his friend.
Roy
turned his head back to Ollie, and Ollie whispered with a smile, "And you
didn't dream what I said." Roy looked at Ollie for a minute and tears formed in
his own eyes. He looked away and found
him looking at Dick and saw Dick's well-known curious expression, but with a
smile. Dick could tell that whatever
happened was a good thing, and he was happy for his friend.
Nightwing
suggested to his friend, "Why don't you get some sleep. When you're strong enough, we'll go home."
Roy
nodded to his friend, and turned back to Ollie, "Are you coming?"
"Yeah,
Roy, I'm coming. I don't want to miss
any more time with you or Lian." Nightwing was shocked by Ollie's words, but it helped him to understand
what had just transpired between the archers, and Roy nodded with a smile.
Roy
contently sighed and closed his eyes, settling in to sleep as Dick
suggested. Ollie watched his son for a
moment, and then turned to the heroes. "I have plans for Ne Win. Let's
go to my office, and I'll fill you in." Nightwing nodded, as did Dinah and Ben, and the foursome left Roy in
Kyi's care.
**
"Ok,"
Ollie started once they had all taken seats in his office, "What I haven't told
you is that I have a DEA contact. It's
not just me that's been after Ne Win, it's the DEA, and we're going to make a
lot of friends when we turn his butt over to the feds."
"You're
working for the DEA?" Dinah asked incredulously.
"Yeah. Gotta trust the government sometimes I
guess," Ollie grinned at his former love. "Anyway, we give Roy a piece of him once he's strong enough, and then we
turn him over. Maybe even let Roy take
the collar if it's ok with you."
"Sure
it's ok," Nightwing spoke for his team. "I think throwing Ne Win to the feds would really help him."
"If
I know Roy," Ben spoke up, "He's gonna want to do more to Ne Win than turn him
in." Dinah, Dick, and Ollie all let out
a little laugh in agreement.
"I'll
call my contact today. He'll be able to
get here to take custody in a few days, which will give Roy enough time to get
well and ..negotiate.. with Ne Win."
**
Having
some free time while his friend regained his strength, Nightwing fed his need
to be active and helpful by teaching some of the local citizens some
self-defense moves. At the moment he
had a class of about four women and five men, and was showing them out to do a
basic side kick. Nightwing persevered
to help the novice class, and he got the feeling that they were impressed that
an American knew their language.
"See,"
Nightwing spoke in Burmese, "Bring your leg up like this first," he stood on
one leg while bringing the other up so that his upper leg was perpendicular to
the ground, and used his hands to try to display himself. Keeping his position, he motioned to the
class, indicating that they should mimic him, which they eventually did. He continued, "Then you push out." He
executed the kick, keeping the position of the extended kick. He pointed to his foot on the ground, trying
to indicate his foot position. He saw
that, even after his verbal explanation, the others weren't understanding, and
he dropped the kick and went to the nearest student. He nodded to her, trying to indicate that she'd be ok, and he
gently moved her plant foot into the right position. The movement took her by surprise, and she had to hang on to him
to keep her balance, but then he pointed to the correctly positioned foot and
smiled up at her. She nodded in
understanding and smiled back. He
looked around, and saw the others catch on too, trying to fix their own
positions.
Suddenly
the class was interrupted by shouts, and Nightwing quickly looked around for
the cause of the disturbance. He saw Ne
Win running in the distance, and he took off after him leaving his class
looking after him. Ne Win was getting
away—he was almost to the front gate—when Nightwing heard a familiar shout. He turned to see Roy wearing only boxer
shorts, but armed with his bow, take aim at the fleeing drug lord. He couldn't help but to notice Roy's perfect
form as the archer released the arrow which flew true into Ne Win's shoulder.
Ne
Win collapsed, and Nightwing reached him only seconds after Roy. Before Nightwing could stop him, not that he
would have if he could, Roy shouldered his bow and hauled Ne Win to his
feet. Roy snarled, "Remember me?" It
was clear by Ne Win's expression that he knew exactly who had him by the collar,
and Roy started to hit him. "You,"
punch, "son," jab, "of," punch, "a," punch, "bitch!" He grabbed the arrow protruding out of Ne Win's shoulder and he
twisted, causing Ne Win to cry out in excruciating pain. "You think you got me, didn't you?" he
growled, "I'm not that easy to kill."
"Roy!" Nightwing tried to bring his friend back
from his rage. Roy was starting to
cross the line. "Enough, Roy, you got
him. Come on."
Keeping
a firm grip on Ne Win, Roy turned to glare at his friend and shouted, "He
wanted to kill me, Nightwing! Wanted to
take me away from Lian! It's never
going to be enough!" Roy's glare turned
to frustration as he took in his friend's stony gaze. He sighed, and turned back to Ne Win. He couldn't think of anything further to yell at him so instead
he simply snarled at Ne Win and punched him out. He stood, grabbed Ne Win by
the back of the collar, and started to drag the unconscious man back to the
jailhouse. "Come on," he growled at Nightwing who followed him.
**
"Well,
I guess you're feeling better," Dick said to Roy as Roy dumped Ne Win
unceremoniously back in his cell.
"Well
enough to blow this joint," Roy answered dryly. "What's happening with him?" He jabbed a thumb at Ne Win.
"Ollie
has a DEA contact. He should be here
today." Nightwing eyed his almost-naked
friend with an crooked grin and suggested, "Maybe you should put on some
clothes."
Roy
looked down at himself, and started to blush, much to Nightwing's
amusement. Roy made a face at his
friend and stalked off, leaving Nightwing to follow. Roy stalked through the compound, ignoring the amused female
whistles that escorted him back to the infirmary. Dick knew his friend must be really upset not to have fun with
that.
The
friends arrived at the infirmary, and Roy silently started to dress as
Arsenal. Dick watched his friend
silently fume, and asked quietly, "What's wrong, Roy?"
Roy
finished dressing and looked to his friend. "What do you mean what's wrong? I almost died thanks to that asshole, and all he gets is a slap on the
wrist and a haul into the DEA? I know
the DEA, Dick. Anything they do isn't
going to stick."
Dick
sighed, and he said quietly, "You know that's how we have to work Roy. What do you want to do? Kill him? You know we don't work like that. You know it would tear you apart worse then
you're hurting now." He paused,
studying his friend, then added, "Remember how hard a time Oliver had when he
killed someone? And that was an
accident."
Roy
exploded, directing his anger unfairly at his friend. "What the hell would you have me do, Dick?" He yelled in Nightwing's face and Dick
calmly took the verbal beating while the few personnel in the room looked on in
interest. Dick knew his friend needed
to vent. "I know how close I was to
death! I know how close Lian came to losing
her father!! How the hell do you
suggest that I deal with that?! Do some
god-damn bat meditation?!"
Roy
looked at Dick angrily, hoping for some resistance. Dick knew that and he complied, ignoring the onlookers and
turning an angry face to his friend and yelling back, "Yeah, that would be a
good start!! You're a hothead, Roy!!
You've got to learn to control that sometime!" Dick saw his friend's anger boiling over and he continued, "Do you want
to hit me, Roy?! Come on, hit
me!!" Roy hesitated, but Dick knew
Roy's verbal assault wasn't enough of a release, so he continued, "You
afraid?! Think I'll kick you're
butt?! Hit me, dammit!"
Finally
Dick's goading got to Roy, and Roy swung out at his friend. Dick blocked easily as he did the next
three swings Roy threw until Roy yelled, "Let me hit you, dammit! Let me hit
you!!" Finally Roy tired himself out enough so that Dick could embrace him, and
he held Roy as the archer cried. Nightwing held his friend, grateful that there was no one they knew to
witness Roy's emotional display as he shh'd his friend's cries.
After
a few minutes, Roy pulled away and looked at Dick with red eyes. He felt better, and he recognized what his
friend had done for him. "Thanks," he
said quietly.
Dick
smiled at him and put a hand on Roy's shoulder. "What are friends for," he smiled, "Let's go see what Ollie's
got, ok?" Roy nodded, and the friends
left for Ollie's office.
**
When
the heroes reached Ollie's office, they found Ollie and Dinah with a man
Nightwing didn't recognize. But Roy
did. They were greeted with a smile
from the man and, "Harper! Hey, how've
you been?"
"I've
been better, Mulder. How's it been with
you?" Nightwing noted that his friend
seemed to be trying to be civil—even friendly—despite his foul mood. Dick would even hazard to say that Roy
looked pleased to see the man. Roy noted his friend's questioning glance, and
explained by way of introduction, "David Mulder, meet Nightwing, my fearless
leader. Nightwing, Agent Mulder, of the
DEA. Only decent agent in the whole
damn agency."
"Oh,
you're just trying to get something out of me, aren't you?" Mulder grinned at
the archer.
"Me?" Roy mocked innocence with an open palm to
the chest. His face split into a grin,
"Never." He turned to his surrogate
father, "Well, you have some taste anyway, Ollie. I was worried when Nightwing told me you've been working with the
DEA."
"Hey,
give me some credit, kid," Ollie sounded hurt, but his grin betrayed his
entertained mood. He teased, "I didn't
think you had any friends left in the government."
"Yeah,
well I think Dave here's my only one. Damn good one to have too." Roy said. "So what's the story, Mulder? You going to make this guy fry?" He looked at Ollie, meaning to ask if Mulder knew what Ne Win had done
to Roy.
Mulder
noted his friend's glance, and simply said, "I know, Roy." He continued, "I
promise I'll make him go down. You have
my word on that one, my friend."
Roy
turned back to his government friend and nodded, apparently appeased. "So you've got a plan out of this hell
hole?"
"Got
a pickup scheduled in about fifteen minutes." At Roy's surprised look, Mulder
stated, "You should know we don't waste time, Harper. Especially in a friendly place like Burma." Roy nodded.
Roy
turned to Ollie, "So you ready to blow this joint?"
"Yeah,
I'm ready. I've explained to Kyi why I
have to go, and given her the means to take care of everyone. She didn't like it, but she understood.
Where's Ben?"
"Watching
Ne Win," Dinah offered.
"Watching
Ne Win?" Nightwing said, surprised that Ne Win got away from a Titan. "Roy just took him down; he got away from
Speedy?"
"Well,
um," Black Canary hesitated, as she looked sideways at Roy, "I, um, think he
wasn't trying very hard." Nightwing
nodded, understanding. All of Roy's friend knew he had to take Ne Win down,
even if it was mostly staged. Nightwing
looked at his friend, and saw that Roy recognized the setup, but he didn't seem
upset. It didn't matter to Roy that it
was staged; he got his vengeance, and he was able to vent.
Ollie
nodded, "Good let's go down and get them."
**
After
retrieving Ben and his charge, the heroes escorted Mulder to his rendezvous
point, and with a shake of the hand and well-wishes, watched the agent leave
Burma with his quarry. Now on the way
back to the Titans' jet—Dinah had taken a one-way transport knowing she could
hitch a ride—the intrepid party was under attack.
"Arrows!!"
Oliver Queen yelled at the other two archers. Roy reacted first and tossed his father a half-dozen in a bundle. The ambush had the group of heroes
scrambling to form a tight fighting formation.
"Canary!"
Nightwing yelled, seeing additional opponents appear from the trees.
"I
see 'em!" She yelled. Canary had the
left side of the path in front of them, kicking and punching her opponents down
one by one while twisting and dodging to avoid the hail of gunfire. They were taken so by surprise that she
hadn't had time to start her bantering. Nightwing had the right half of the
path, using more of a tumbling technique to accomplish the same goal as Black
Canary. The three archers formed a
loose back-to-back triangle, keeping the opponents from all sides at a
distance.
Ben
faced the front of the path, covering the hand-to-hand partners easily. Roy and Oliver covered the back of the path
together, and although Roy took his full share of the field of view, Ollie kept
a special eye on his son. Seeing that
the six arrows he had given Ollie were running out, in a smooth motion and
between shootings, Roy threw more into the ground tip-first so that Ollie could
reach them. Ollie noted his son's
actions, and took and shot the arrows one-by-one.
The
five heroes were almost free when Roy suddenly cried out in pain. He collapsed, releasing his bow to grasp his
right leg, and, taken by surprise, Ollie quickly adjusted his field of
targeting to cover his son. "Roy!"
Ollie called, not daring to look at his son to see how badly he had been hurt.
"I'm
ok. I think," Roy reassured through gritted teeth, and still clutching his leg
in pain, "It just hurts like hell." Having an injured teammate put the others in a mode to finish off the
fight quickly, and, having only a few opponents left, made quick work of
them. After a moment of silence to make
sure no one was going to pop out at him, Nightwing ran to his teammate's side
to inspect Roy's wound. Ollie bent down
to help Roy from a lying-down position on his side to a sitting-up position,
and Roy hung on to Ollie, leaning against his former mentor, and gripping
Ollie's forearm against the pain in his leg.
Roy
watched Nightwing as his friend cut open the fabric around the wound. He muttered, "Geez, I can't catch a break."
Nightwing
reassured, "It doesn't look too bad. Can you stand? We can take a better look at it on the jet." Roy nodded, and waited for Dick to get on
his left side—Ollie was on his right—and let his teammates haul him to his
feet. After Roy nodded indicating he
had enough balance, Dick let go and took the forward point. Black Canary and
Speedy both gave Roy concerned looks as they took the rear point, and through
pain-filled eyes and putting most of his weight on Ollie as they moved, Roy
returned his best devil-may-care smile.
The
heroes made their way back to the Titans' jet with no further incident, and
Nightwing made Arsenal lie down in a medical bed, despite the archer's
protests. The Titans leader inspected,
cleaned, and bandaged the wound with Black Canary, Speedy, and Ollie looking
over his shoulder and with Roy looking on with a mixture of pain and
disgust. Once Arsenal's wound was taken
care of, Nightwing turned his attention to the bridge of the jet to start the
trip home.
As
they felt the heaviness of liftoff, Black Canary came to whisper in Ollie's
ear, "Could I talk to you a minute?" Ollie looked at her for a moment, and then nodded and left his position
at Roy's bedside to follow her to the rear of the jet. When they were both
comfortably seated and alone, Canary said carefully, "I just wanted to let you
know.. I'm really happy to find you in one piece, and I'm happy you're coming
back with us.."
"But?"
Ollie prompted, hearing the tone in her voice.
Canary
looked down as she continued, "But.. well.. I've gotten more independent, and
even if we were to.. you know.. I'm not around too much anymore. I'm not even a
member of the JLA anymore." She looked
up to see if Ollie had gotten her meaning, and she could see that he had.
His
expression wasn't one of disappointment though, she thought, more like..
understanding. He smiled at her and whispered, "Pretty bird, I'll take anything
you're willing to give and nothing more." He squeezed her hand and leaned
forward to give her a light kiss on the cheek, and, after receiving a grateful
smile in return, returned to Roy's side.
**
Roy
was nervous as hell. The team had
gotten back to the states a few days ago, and he had just been released from
the hospital after being admitted for observation because of the gunshot wound
and the poison attack. He had known all
along that this was the first thing he had to do, but that didn't make it any
easier. He and Conner had gotten to
know each other a little bit over the years; especially since Conner had always
wanted to hear stories about Ollie; but now Roy had to tell Conner that he went
off without him to find Conner's father. Roy was back at Finnegan's sitting alone waiting for Conner. Dick had wanted to come along both for moral
and physical support since Roy was on crutches but Roy declined the offer,
saying this was something he had to break to Conner alone.
Roy
saw Ollie's son enter the small pub, and he raised his hand, gaining the
younger archer's attention. "Hiya,
Conner," Roy greeted when Conner had reached the table.
"Hi,
Roy," Conner returned. Roy could see
that Conner was dying to know why Roy had asked to meet. Roy rarely—if ever—asked to meet. "What happened?" Conner asked, gesturing to
Roy's crutches.
"Oh
it's nothing," Roy assured nonchalantly. "I was shot, but it's not bad. Actually, where I got it is what I want to talk to you about," Roy
started. "Want a beer?" he offered.
"No,
but I'll take some water," Conner answered.
Roy
rolled his eyes good-naturedly and nodded, "That's right, only pure things for
Conner Hawke," Roy teased. Conner sighed.
Roy called the waitress over, and flirted with her openly while asking her for
Conner's water. After a moment, the
waitress returned with water for Conner and a flirtatious smile for Roy. Roy winked at her as she left.
Roy
turned to his companion and asked, "How've you been, Conner? We haven't seen
each other in a while."
"Better
than you, it seems like," Conner stated, referring to Roy's injury. Then he answered, "I've been hanging in
there. Kyle and I get together
sometimes, and mostly I just try to keep myself and my mom out of trouble."
"Heh,
I know what that's like," Roy grinned.
"Roy,
why did you call me?" Conner got to the
point. It's not that he didn't enjoy Roy's company—Roy was one of the more
colorful people Conner knew, and that was really saying something—but he was
dying to know what could have caused the elder archer to ask to meet.
Roy
said, "Straight to the point, eh? I guess this is a little unusual," he
conceded. Roy sighed, looking into his
beer. He started, "Recently I got some
information that led me to Burma. I
would have called you, but we had to leave in a hurry."
Conner
looked puzzled and asked, "Why would you have called me? We would have just been redundant."
"Not
on this one," Roy said carefully. Then
he just said it. "Conner, Ollie's
alive." He watched Conner's eyes
widen. "He came back with us from
Burma. He's currently in my apartment."
"He's..
alive??" Conner's eyes hadn't narrowed at all. "How.. ? How did you find him?"
"Long
story. I'll get into it later. You got an invite to the JLA watchtower?"
Conner nodded. "That's what it's
about. Nightwing's gonna break the news
to the JLA this evening. I just thought
as Ollie's son, you had a right to know before everyone else."
"I..
thanks.. I appreciate it.. But he has no interest in us, does he? Last time I saw him he told me to get out of his life."
Conner
said mournfully.
"He's
changed, Conner. It's actually rather
unbelievable. But I believe him more
now than I ever have in the past. He
says he's realized what's important, and that we're it." Roy gave a crooked grin, "Unbelievable,
ain't it?" Speechless, Conner nodded.
**
"I
want to thank you all for coming," Nightwing started. At their request, Superman had requested the assembly of the JLA,
and had provided invitations for the Titans and Conner Hawke. Nightwing was standing at one end of the
room, causing the JLAers on the same side of the room to turn from the table. Nightwing paused and looked at his
audience. The complete JLA minus Oracle
was seated around the table in the middle of the Hall of Justice, and Connor
Hawke, Black Canary, and the Titans formed a half-circle around the perimeter
of the room. He knew Barbara had a visual, and, because of recent minor
technical problems, he wore a headset to provide her with sound. Nightwing thought with slight amusement that
Wally looked like he was enjoying sitting at the inner table a little too
much. Unlike some of their teammates,
Nightwing held no ill will towards Wally's membership in the JLA— probably
because Nightwing himself had been offered membership and had turned it
down. He also thought that some of the
younger members of his team looked very nervous and in awe, but he knew it was
perfectly understandable. Not many
people, costumed heroes included, could withstand the awesome view from the
watchtower, especially on their first visit. Nightwing thought Arsenal looked even more nervous, although Nightwing
knew it was for an entirely different reason.
Of
all the members on both teams minus those presenting the information, he knew
only Superman knew why he had called the assembly, although Nightwing thought
that the team presenting the information, plus the addition of Conner Hawke to
the assembly should provide enough information to many of the audience
members. He continued, "I, Arsenal,
Speedy, and Black Canary have some pretty shocking news, and I ask that you
trust what your eyes tell you." He
found himself addressing his own mentor as he finished his sentence. "Recently, we had been given information
that we could not ignore, and we went to investigate." He paused, his eyes
going involuntarily to Superman, and then stated carefully, holding one hand to
the doorway, "This is the result."
Slowly,
and with an expression of insecurity, Oliver Queen made himself visible to the
assembly. There were gasps, including
in Nightwing's ear, as the members laid eyes on the friend thought dead. Not much could make the members of the
Justice League of America gasp, but this was definitely one of those rare
exceptions. Nightwing studied the
audience for a moment, and thought that most of the members seemed to believe
him, including Batman, although Nightwing thought if anyone else had been standing
before his mentor, Batman would not have been so ready to believe. He stole a glance at Conner, and thought he
saw the young archer's eyes start to tear up. Nightwing relinquished the floor to Queen, handing Queen his headset,
and moving to stand behind Roy.
"Hi,"
Ollie started, donning and adjusting the headset while trying to make light of
the tense situation. No one
laughed—they were still too shocked, except, of course, for Superman, who was
observing his teammates' reactions to the news, and seemed to be looking for
any indication that any of them considered his role in the lie. Only Batman seemed to pick up on Superman's
role as he gave a hard glance to the Man of Steel, and Superman got the
impression of a raised eyebrow under his friend's cowl. Of course Oliver had considered Superman's
role in revealing the secret, but he was too tense as he addressed his former
teammates to be annoyed at the moment.
Oliver
wished he had something to hide behind like a podium as he continued, "I'm
..sorry.. for the deception. There was
something, though, that I had always thought needed to be done, and the chance
to leave all behind so that I could accomplish that goal was too
tempting." Ollie saw his friends start
to argue, and he held up his hands, "I know you would have liked to help, and I
know it probably would have gone easier if you could help, but just please
accept it when I tell you it was something I had to do alone." Ollie found himself glancing at Roy, and saw
his surrogate son looking thoughtfully at the floor. Ollie stated, "The arrival of Arsenal, Black Canary, and company
turned out to be timely, and most of what I wanted to accomplish was completed
with their help. So here I am. I hope.. you can all accept me and what I've
done." Oliver looked tentatively at his
teammates—his friends—and saw shock give way to joy in most of them. Ollie noticed that the only member to really
keep an impassive expression was Aquaman, but then Ollie never did get along
with the underwater king. He released
the breath he didn't know he was holding, and smiled at his friends.
Superman
stood first and went to his friend, shaking his hand, and pulling him close to
whisper, "I'm glad you're back." Ollie
nodded to his friend with only a slight smile as the rest of the JLA and then
the Titans surrounded the elder archer. Arthur kept his distance on the outside of the swarm around the elder
archer, continuing to watch impassively. Ollie thought to himself that some things never change, and made a note
to himself to keep his distance from the sea king.
"You
will tell us what happened, won't you?" Batman's deep bass broke through the
crowd, and everyone stopped for a moment, fearing his universal reputation for
being a wet blanket. The he let out a
small smile—enough for his teammates to know he was at least partially teasing—
and the room broke into festive motion again. Batman had already noticed with interest Roy's open demeanor towards his
former mentor, and knew something had changed in his friend. He was looking forward to finding out what
that was. "And you," he said
good-naturedly toward Nightwing, "Keeping secrets, are we?"
"I
learned from the best," Nightwing responded with a grin for his father.
"Uh,
I have a question," Flash spoke up, avoiding Superman's gaze, "I don't mean to
accuse or anything," he finally looked at the Man of Steel, "but didn't you
tell us he died?"
Batman
thwarted Superman's response and spoke in defense of his extraterrestrial
friend, "He never actually told us Ollie died. He gave us answers that lead us to believe that, but never actually said
it." He looked curiously at Superman,
"I assume you told them that Ollie was alive. What finally did it?"
"Your
protégé," Superman admitted with a smile as looked at Nightwing, "He asked me a
straight question. One I couldn't
skirt." Nightwing responded with a
crooked smile, grateful for the praise in front of Batman. Batman nodded bluntly, but his eyes sparkled
with pride.
Batman
took the initiative and stated, "Of course we'll discuss your reinstatement
immediately." His tone, plus the
expressions of the other members, indicated that the discussion was simply a
formality. Oliver noted that Batman
didn't ask him if he wanted membership again, and simply shook his head—some
things will just never change.
**
Oliver
Queen overlooked the simulation room in which the Titans were using their bit
of free time and temporary access to the JLA facilities to do some light
training. He was impressed with what he
saw, and he noted with amusement that, although he was injured, Roy sat perched
on a ledge firing suction-cup arrows at his teammates. It was mostly all in
fun, but he was providing little extra obstacles for his teammates who where
leaping and tumbling around each other. By watching their actions, Ollie could tell that the team had split into
two and was scrimmaging against each other with Nightwing orchestrating the
drill. He noted that none of the
specially-powered members were using their superhuman abilities, and that
Speedy didn't have his bow, and he guessed that Nightwing forbade it for this
drill—that the point of the drill was the dodging and tumbling.
Ollie
heard someone move up on him from behind, and he turned to find that Superman
had entered the room. Queen gave a
smile to the Kryptonian, and went back to observing the younger team. "They've gotten really good," Queen noted as
Superman moved to stand next to the archer and observe the team in motion.
Superman
nodded and agreed, "Yes, they have. And
they're doing a pretty good job introducing the job to the next
generation." He assumed correctly that
Ollie was referring to the original five Titans. While keeping his eyes on the action below, Superman stated matter-of-factly,
"Your reinstatement has been approved unanimously." Ollie nodded silently and Superman asked, "Do you want it?" He turned to look at the archer.
"Well
at least *someone's* asking me that," Queen said.
Superman
smiled and, referring to Batman, responded, "Some things never change."
Ollie
let out a little laugh and said, "That's for sure." Then, answering the question posed, said, "I don't know. I have to think about it. You know, I accepted the first time to get
close to Canary, and she's doing her own thing now." Superman nodded. He
hadn't known that, but it didn't surprise him in the least. Ollie asked as if
it were an afterthought, "Unanimously? Even Fishbreath?"
Superman
sighed and stated, "You know, your relationship with Aquaman might improve if
you wouldn't call him that. He is a
king after all. He's used to respect."
"Yeah,
well, he's never shown me any. Even
earlier in the Hall of Justice—he's the only one that didn't welcome me at
all." Ollie stated angrily.
"Well,
not everyone gets along. I'm sure if
you accepted your reinstatement—and Aquaman did accept it—even with your
differences, he acknowledges your value to the JLA—you could work on making
amends with him."
Ollie
nodded and, not wanting to talk about the sea king anymore, addressed the main
matter at hand, "I think I did some real good these past few years, and I think
I'd like to continue that. Whether I
can do the most good as a member of the JLA or by some other means is what I've
got to figure out."
Superman
nodded and acknowledged, "It is a hard decision, but consider that you could
have time for other means of fighting your cause, and the JLA does more than
its share of good. Besides, the League
needs an archer." Superman smiled at his friend.
Surprised,
Ollie asked bluntly and perhaps a little defensively, "Why weren't Roy or Conner
invited to replace me?"
Superman
sighed, and put one arm up to lean against the sloping wall as he looked down
at the Titans. After a pause, he
answered, "Conner was invited, and was a member for a time. I guess he felt a little out of his league;
he quit saying he wasn't cut out for the organized superhero business. Sound like anyone you know?" Superman asked
rhetorically with a grin as he turned to his friend. Ollie responded by rolling his eyes. Ollie waited for Superman to continue, which he did. Turning back to the scene below, he said,
"Roy.. I'm not sure about. I guess some
members were concerned about his irreverent behavior.."
Ollie
cut him off with, "Irreverent?! What do
you call Plastic Man?!"
Superman
let out a little chuckle and corrected, "Ok, probably not his behavior. To tell you the truth, I'm not quite sure
why he wasn't asked."
Ollie's
voice took an edge as he said, "Could it be for the same reason he had to crash
my funeral?" Superman looked puzzled as
he straightened and dropped his arm, and Ollie explained, "He told me how the
JLA didn't invite him to my memorial. For years—before I knew about Conner—he was the closest thing I had to a
son. It doesn't matter if we hadn't
talked in years, he still should have been invited. You know I saw him the day of the crash?" Looking chastised, Superman shook his
head. Ollie continued thoughtfully,
"Even then, he cared more than he should have. I told him to go away, and for once he actually listened. That's why he wasn't in the plane with
Conner and Eddie. He left them only
hours before." Ollie continued, "My
theory is that the JLA didn't see Roy as my rightful heir. I want you to know that, along with Conner
of course, I consider Roy as much my heir as Bruce considers Dick. And, although I certainly don't expect that
our relationship well ever get as bad as it was, I want you to know that I want
Roy invited to my next funeral. Hopefully that won't be for a good long time."
Head
bowed, Superman nodded, and he said, "I don't know what to say, Ollie. Of course Roy's your son, and we should have
made sure he knew about the service. The only thing I can say is that we were just so stunned. And I think I was too worried about hiding
my relief that we did find a way out for you."
Ollie
nodded. "Yeah, that was some amazing
teamwork, wasn't it?" Ollie grinned, "I even got to keep my arm." He moved his arm in a circle and in front of
him as if to illustrate. Then he
continued, "I do want to thank you for what you did. It allowed me to get some real work done. Work that's made a real difference for me
and for the world."
Superman
nodded, "You're welcome. I can see that
you've changed Ollie. I can see it in you, and I can see it in Roy. May I ask what work you did that made such a
difference for you?"
Ollie
simply said, "Against heroin production in Burma." It was all that needed to be said, for of course Superman knew of
Roy's history with the illicit drug, and Superman simply nodded. "I want you to know," Ollie paused, "That
originally I was pissed that you had told Roy and Nightwing that I didn't die
in that plane crash. But I've had time
to think about it, and I see more where you were coming from."
Superman
nodded again, recognizing the covert apology. He said, "I appreciate it, Ollie. I hope someday Roy will be able to see my side of it too."
Roy
had told Ollie how he felt about the Kryptonian's misinformation, and Ollie
responded, "He's a hothead. Always has
been, and probably always will be. I'm
sure with time he'll see your point of view." Superman nodded. While he
appreciated Ollie's optimistic appraisal, he wasn't sure of Ollie's assessment
of his former ward's reactions. Ollie
didn't exactly have a stellar history when it came to predicting his ward's
reactions to events, although, as Batman had, Superman had also noticed the
more-positive-than-expected attitude Roy has had towards his former guardian.
That
train of thought lead the Man of Steel to ask, "Things ok between you two? Roy seems pretty upbeat."
Ollie
nodded with a smile. He said, "Living
in that part of the world for so long, I learned a lot about things. Things I probably should have figured out
long ago. I told Roy that, and while I
don't think he believes it totally yet, I think he has more hope than any other
time I've tried to make amends with him."
Superman
nodded while his eyes wandered to the archer Titan still taking aim at his
teammates. "I hope it works out for
you, Ollie. Roy's a great kid, and he's
grown into an impressive, if still irreverent, young man." He turned to his friend with a grin, and
said with a somewhat teasing tone, "And
he's got a precious little girl who will be just ecstatic to see her 'Grandpa
Ollie' again."
Ollie
laughed and said, "Believe it or not, I'm looking forward to being Grandpa
Ollie. I didn't think I'd ever say
that."
Superman
nodded again. After a moment, he
wrapped up the conversation with, "Well, I've got to be getting on planet. I'm glad to have you back, and I hope you
give serious consideration to accepting your reinstatement." He gave the archer a slap on the back and a
smile and left the room. Ollie turned
towards the Titans again for a moment and then also left for the simulation
room below.
**
After
retrieving his own bow and a few trick arrows, Ollie entered the simulation
room and was promptly greeted with a suction-cup arrow to the forehead. He mock-glared at the source, gripped the
shaft of the arrow, and pulled, releasing the suction and freeing the
arrow. Roy grinned at his surrogate
father from his perch high above and gave a little irreverent wave.
In
response, Ollie nocked one of his own trick arrows and let it fly at his
son. In an effort to dodge the
projectile, Roy twisted, laughing, until he suddenly lost balance and started
to fall from his perch. Seeing the
danger, Oliver immediately went into a full run, although he knew desperately
that he wasn't going to reach his son in time.
Having
seen the playful exchange, Nightwing saw the danger before Roy had visibly lost
balance and was already in springing motion when the archer started to
fall. Nightwing's sudden movement froze
the rest of the team as they watched the drama. He shot a line to Roy's previous perch and swung to catch his
friend in mid-air. He let the line
extend to the ground, giving Roy a you-should-know-better look. Roy responded with a sheepish grin as they
reached the floor and he put his weight on his good leg, still holding onto
Nightwing for balance. A split second
later, Ollie was there frantically asking, "Are you ok?!"
A
little surprised at his former guardian's reaction—for when Roy was a teen,
Ollie would have said the accident was Roy's fault and expressed no concern
whatsoever—Roy nodded. He said, "I
could use those crutches though," as he pointed with his chin to his crutches
which were on the floor by the doorway Ollie had just come through. Troia responded, flying to pick them up, and
to deliver them to her friend. Letting
go of Nightwing, Roy placed his weight on the crutches and looked for his
bow. Ben had picked it up, and, seeing
his teacher's glance, brought it over. Roy handed a crutch to Nightwing, took the bow, slung it onto his shoulder,
and took back the crutch. "Ok, all
better," he said with a nonchalant grin. Roy turned his grin to his surrogate father and asked, "Ready for that
challenge now?"
"Now?"
Ollie questioned. He was aware of the
almost awe-struck silence surrounding them when he asked, "Don't you want to
wait until you're healed?"
"Naw,"
Roy answered, retaining his grin, "Gotta give myself a handicap to match your
old age." Roy was clearly teasing, but
his words still produced surprised disquiet among many of the Titans—mostly the
younger ones who regarded Oliver Queen as a legend come to life—even though
they knew Roy had been raised by him.
"You
little smart-ass," Ollie responded with a grin, "I'll show you who needs some
training."
Retaining
his grin, Roy turned to the only other archer in the room, and gesturing
towards Ollie, asked, "You want to get in on this?"
Ben
smiled back, glad to see the banter after seeing their initial meeting in
Burma, and shook his head. "No, I'll
watch. My momma told me never to get
involved in a family battle." Never
mind he was raised by his brother.
Roy
laughed good-naturedly and hobbled to the room's control panel followed by
Oliver and the rest of the Titans, with Dick staying by Roy's side. Roy turned with a questioning expression to
Dick, and, understanding that Roy was asking if it was ok to erase the current
program, Dick nodded. Roy commanded the
program to wipe the slate clean, and suddenly the Titans and Ollie were
standing in a grid. He looked to Ollie,
"Well, how about it?" Then he turned to
the room with a grin, "Suggestions anyone?"
"Run
around the room, shooting the target in the middle," Wally suggested, grinning
at Roy. Roy gave him a give-me-a-break
look, and would have smacked him with a crutch if Wally had not invisibly moved
in an instant. Now on the other side of
the gathering, Wally gave his friend a you-can't-catch me grin, and, putting
his crutch back to the ground, Roy just shook his head.
Donna
spoke up, "Why not do a zero-g simulation? That way Roy doesn't have to depend
on his bad leg."
Roy
smiled at his current partner and said, "I like the way you think,
sweetheart." Donna blushed, and Roy's
smile turned back into a grin.
"Uh..
no..."Nightwing shot down the idea, looking apologetically at Donna. He elaborated, "While normally I'd enjoy
watching Roy try to shoot in zero-g, I don't want to take any chances with his
injury." He saw puzzled looks from his teammates, and he suppressed a sigh as
he said in an impatient lecturing tone, "You know.. Equal/opposite reactions?"
He pointed fingers on opposite hands towards each other, "Conservation of
momentum?" No luck. Now he did sigh.
"Aw,
you worry too much," Roy grinned at his friend and brought a hand from his
crutch to slap Nightwing on the back. Then he said, "Ok, I've got it." Roy turned back to the control panel,
and Nightwing couldn't help but to notice the mischievous expression that had
crossed his friend's face. Leaning on
his crutches, Roy punched in a few commands, and the grid turned into a forest
clearing with two fortresses on either end. Each fortress had flags waving from the battlements—one's flags had
Arsenal's tri-feathered design with a halo-like oval above the symbol, and the
other's flags had a peace symbol with little horns projecting from the
symbol. The peace symbol made Ollie
think of Barry Allen, who used to call Ollie a "peace-loving hippie," and he
was sure that Roy was referring to the nickname in his choice of symbols. Reacting to the angel/devil theme, Ollie
just shook his head in resignation. Noting the elder archer's reaction, Roy grinned.
"Ok,"
Roy turned to Donna, "How about a ride, sweetheart?" Donna blushed again and smiled. She came to Roy, and stood next to him. Discarding his crutches, Roy leaned on his current girlfriend, putting
his arm around her shoulders as he put hers around his waist. As he winked to her, she smiled and flew him
to the top of his fortress. As she
returned, Roy leaned over the edge of the battlement and called teasingly, "Gotta
find your own ride, Ollie, but I imagine you can handle that!"
Ollie
looked at the Titans. He wasn't even
sure which ones could fly. Finally he
looked at Kory, who had caught his eye from the beginning, and with a raised
eyebrow, gave his best ladykiller smile. Nightwing sighed and rolled his eyes—some things never change. Kory smiled back, apparently oblivious that
Ollie had chosen her out of all of her teammates, and offered, "I can take you,
Mr. Queen."
"Thank
you.. ?" Ollie prompted.
"Kory,"
Kory introduced herself with a smile.
"Ah,
Kory," Ollie bent to kiss Kory's hand with a touch of flair.
Watching
the scene, Grant bent to Toni and whispered, "Well now we know where Roy gets
it," and Toni gave a little laugh in response.
Roy
watched as Kory shuttled his surrogate father to his place and returned to the
ground and her teammates. "What now?"
Ollie called from his fortress.
"Now
we defend ourselves," Roy called back. With a grin, he commanded the computer, "Computer, barbarians!" The
whole room broke into hysterics as a swarm of Care Bears flooded the clearing. Then he commanded Ollie, "Shoot! He who takes out the most wins! Defend thy property!!"
After
getting his laughter under control enough to shoot, Ollie joined Roy in picking
off the Bears one by one. As they shot
the bears, they bears fizzled into nothingness until there were none left. "Woo hoo!!" Roy exclaimed as he shot the
last one. "I always hated that
one!!" He hopped and put his free hand
on the battlement, making it clear that he had completed his task while
standing on his good leg. "Computer,
total!" Roy asked.
"Red:
30, Green: 32" The computer responded.
"Ah,
well, I'll get you next time," Roy
called. "Sweetheart, a little help!"
Roy called to the ground. Donna
responded, coming to retrieve the younger bowman, while Kory returned to shuttle
the elder. When everyone was on the
ground and Roy had retrieved his crutches, he grinned at his surrogate father,
"Ok, you won this one, but next time, I won't be so nice."
"Hah,
nice try, kiddo." Ollie grinned
back. Then he looked up at the observation
window, clearly having noticed someone in the window before, and Roy and some
of the others followed his gaze. They
saw Conner watching the team, and self-consciously Ollie excused himself. He slung his bow over his shoulder, gave an
apologetic look to Roy, and left the simulation room for the room upstairs.
**
"How're
ya doin', kid?" Ollie asked carefully as he entered the room. Conner was still watching the team below,
but he didn't seem surprised at Ollie's arrival as he shrugged. Ollie came to stand next to his son, and saw
that the Titans had continued the training session his arrival had
interrupted. "You knew before tonight,
didn't you?" Ollie asked, concerned.
"Yeah,"
Conner answered. "Roy told me this
afternoon." He paused, and then asked, "What did you do? Why wouldn't you tell us you survived?"
"I
was fighting the drug trade in Burma." He paused, and then, after a hesitation, continued as a means of
explanation, "Did Roy ever tell you.." he started.
Conner
shrugged again. "I don't remember if
Roy told me or someone else told me, but I know about Roy's history with
heroin. I understand why you'd be
interested in stopping the drug trade." He moved from the window to sit at the small table in the middle of the
room. His father joined him.
"As
for why I didn't tell anyone, those months before the accident where probably
the worst in my life. You know I was
trying to sort things out—that's why I had come to the monastery. And then those government goons were after
me. I was so messed up, I couldn't even
think straight when I was dealing with those eco-terrorists. The chance to start completely over was so
tempting that I took it. I did accomplish
a lot in Burma, and I think I'm better for it. And I think I've figured out a lot about how things should be. And a parent and child should always accept
each other for who they are."
"I've
always accepted you like you are," Conner started, confused and hurt.
"Oh,
no. I didn't mean you, Conner, I meant
me. I was so worried about having to be
responsible for someone that I didn't even give you a chance. God knows you didn't need me looking after
you."
Conner
started carefully, "Roy said.. well.. that you want us now.."
"Geez,
kid, don't sound so pathetic." Ollie paused, and then said thoughtfully,
"Although, I guess I bring that out in people, huh?"
"No,"
Conner countered, "I wouldn't say that.."
Ollie
interrupted, "Roy would."
"Well,"
Conner started. He knew what he was
thinking, but he wasn't quite sure how to voice it. He said carefully, "Roy.. gave up.. he's not your son.."
"He
wanted to be. And now that I know
better, I want him to be. You'll
certainly have a special place for me since you're my blood, Conner, but I see
Roy as my son too. And like I said,
since he was a kid, Roy's wanted a father. Unfortunately, he looked to me for that. The only reason he gave up is because he knew me."
Conner
nodded, considering that he supposed he had a brother of sorts now. He looked at the table. He said, "I still had so many questions when
you di.. left. I guess maybe you did
too.. ? You never even asked who my
mother was."
"Didn't
have to, kid. I have a pretty good
idea. Moonday Hawke, right?" Shocked, Conner looked up at his father.
"Hey, kid, I may be a womanizer, but I remember every last one. Your mom had this great Korean look, but
with darker skin than most Koreans. You
look like her," he smiled. "Does she
know you gave me my pendant?" He pulled
the chain around his neck to reveal the pendant that Conner had given him at
the monastery before Ollie had known of their relation. Pleasantly surprised that his father was
wearing the pendant, Conner shook his head, and Ollie started calmly, "You
shouldn't take stuff like that.."
Just
as calmly, Conner explained, "She gave it to me. I thought you might like to have it back. She doesn't know that I've even met you."
Initially shocked, Ollie nodded. But
then he remembered Moonday, and he remembered how she didn't like shocking
news. And Ollie guessed that Conner
telling her that he had met his father would be right up there.
"How
is your mom?" Ollie asked.
Conner
shrugged, "Ok, I guess. Still
shopping." Ollie laughed. "She got in bad with a terrorist once—even
married him—but that's all done now. Kyle
and I were able to show her who my stepdad really was."
"Kyle?" Ollie questioned.
Conner
hesitated, for his friend's id was a secret, and then, remembering Ollie's
history with the first Green Lantern and his history in the JLA, figured it was
ok. So he answered, "The current Green
Lantern. He's my age, and we help each
other sometimes. Lots of references to
continuing the tradition of Green Lantern and Green Arrow working together."
"That's
great, Conner. Glad to see you're
filling my shoes without a problem." Ollie smiled, and Conner got the impression that he meant what he said.
"I
wouldn't say that," Conner said, leaning back in his chair and fiddling with a
piece of paper that his hands had found on the table. "I guess I manage, but to tell you the truth, I feel over my head
most of the time."
Ollie
nodded, "I know just what you mean. Well maybe sometime you and I can go out together." Ollie watched for a reaction in his son's
eyes, and as Conner looked up quickly to meet his father's eyes, Ollie saw a
spark.
"That'd
be great!" Conner gushed. Then he
realized the conflict, and offered, "Of course I'll give you the Green Arrow
name and costume back.. I'll find another."
"No,
kid, you've earned it. Although I think
I am going to take up the JLA's offer to become a member again, so I'd
appreciate help in coming up with a new codename and costume."
"No,"
Conner countered, "You should have it. You're Green Arrow, and you should have the name. I'll come up with something." Ollie started
to counter, and Conner cut him off by continuing, "You know what an expert I am
in Green Arrow's history. And as long
as you're around, I'd much rather be the expert and student."
Ollie
finally nodded concession, and said lightly, "Well the Speedy name is already
taken, thank God." Conner laughed. "While we're at it, we might try to come up
with a code name and costume for Roy's student too."
Suddenly
father's and son's attentions were drawn to the door as Roy hobbled in and
defended, "Hey, hey. There's nothing
wrong with that name!"
Smiling
in greeting, Conner said, "That's not what you said a few years ago."
Returning
his 'brother's' smile, Roy countered, "Yeah well I changed my mind."
Roy
paused, wanting to make sure it was ok to stay, when Ollie read his demeanor
and, after a look at Conner, invited, "Have a seat, Roy. I think we were just finishing up what had
to be said." Roy took the offered seat,
sitting carefully and laying his crutches to one side.
Roy
gave an unspoken question to Conner, asking if it was ok between Conner and
Ollie, and, with a smile, Conner nodded. He watched his surrogate father and Ollie's son for a moment, and
decided that they both looked content. "So," he started, "Who is it that needs a new codename?" Conner raised a
hand with a pointed finger as Roy took a seat. "How about Green Arrow Jr?" Roy
teased.
Conner
rolled his eyes and said, "I think we can do this later. So, it sounds like thanks to Ollie, I've
gained a brother." Conner smiled at Roy. Conner knew how he would feel if he were Roy, and, especially after what
Ollie had told him, Conner wanted to make sure Roy knew Conner welcomed him.
Roy
gave Conner a grateful smile back, making Conner think he had hit on Roy's
feelings. Roy said unbelievably, "Man,
a real family? I can hardly believe
it."
With
his eyes going to the window that looked into the hallway, Ollie's eyes
sparkled as he stated with a smile, "You're already a family, Roy."
"Huh?"
Roy asked, confused, and then turned to the door when it opened.
He
was greeted with, "Daddy!!" as, just released from Auntie Donna's arms, Lian
ran to her father.
Roy
lit up as he scooped his daughter into his lap, allowing only a quick pained
expression to show as Lian's weight momentarily rested on his bad leg, and he
greeted, "Hi, princess!" He gave her a
hug, and, with eyes going to Donna and Wally, said, "I see Auntie Donna and
Uncle Wally took you on a field trip."
Donna
smiled, "Lian missed her daddy, and Uncle Wally gave us a ride."
Lian
hadn't noticed Ollie yet, but Roy saw his surrogate father's eyes sparkle as he
looked at his granddaughter. Eying
Ollie with a smile, Roy asked Lian, "Honey, I've got a surprise for you." Lian perked up—her daddy's surprises were
always the best—and, pointing with his chin across the table, Roy asked,
"Remember Grandpa Ollie?"
"Gran'pa
Ollie!" Lian exclaimed and wiggled out of her father's embrace to run around
the table. With a laugh, Ollie picked
her up into the air before he placed her into his lap.
"Hi,
pretty bird!" Lian's face scrunched at the nickname, and Ollie clarified to his
granddaughter, "That's a nickname I use for only the prettiest girls." Lian's face lit up again and she hugged her
grandpa. Roy watched his daughter
happily, noting that Lian didn't even think to question Grandpa Ollie's
appearance.
"We're
glad you're back, Gran'pa Ollie," Roy said with a playful smile.
